Estimating and monetizing the causal effect of severe interpersonal violence against children in sports on subjective well-being

Background: Interpersonal Violence (IV) against children in sports is a prevalent problem and has a major impact on their well-being. However, the causal relationship and the costs for society remain unclear. Objective: The aim of this study is to estimate the causal effect of severe IV in sports on Subjective Well-Being (SWB) and to monetize the collective loss for society. Participants and setting: The study used survey data from 4003 respondents in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium). The questionnaire included current SWB as well as 41 items to assess experiences with psychological, physical and sexual IV in sports before the age of 18. Severity was quantified by experts and reported frequency. Methods: By using the number of sports that someone participated in during their youth as an instrumental variable to control for confounding, the study estimates the causal effect of severe IV on SWB. The Three-Stage Well-Being Valuation Approach was used to monetize the loss in SWB in terms of income compensation. Results: The results show that experiencing severe IV in sports results in significant lower SWB levels (b = −0.45, p < .01). The lower SWB is comparable to an annual loss of income of 9672 euro per person. Conclusions: We have found evidence for a causal effect of severe IV in childhood on the SWB later in life. The results highlight the long-term, extensive impact of experiencing severe IV in sports that exceeds direct physical and psychological health outcomes.